Even Hokages Cry
by meggz106
Summary: After being informed that Jiraiya died in his battle with Pain, Tsunade remembers their past and comes to the realization that she is in love with him. Is she too late or will a miracle happen to give her a second chance? I don't own Naruto or the characters. Read and review
1. Jiraiya Boy Died in Battle

**Seriously, who doesn't love this ship? I haven't written anything in a while so feedback would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!**

"Jiraiya boy has died in battle"

The room was silent and the air was still. This could not be happening. Did she hear correctly? Jiraiya, that old pervert hermit could not be dead.

She was numb. She couldn't feel and she couldn't speak. All she could think about was the last conversation that they had, although neither of them believed that it would be their last. The mission that he took upon himself was definitely a dangerous one. A suicide mission, some would call it. That was exactly the reason why Tsunade did not want him to go. She was all too familiar with battles and going up against an opponent like Pain, the leader of one of the most powerful evil organizations the ninja world has ever seen, would definitely result in some serious injury or death.

"_Please come back alive, Jiraiya." These words were a shock to him and even a shock to her, "If I were to lose you too I- "_

"_You would cry for me? That would make me happy."_

She told him to come back. She couldn't bear the very thought of losing another person dear to her. Sure he was a pervert and he didn't quite grow up yet but he was her longest and best friend. She knew everything about him and he knew everything about her. They haven't seen each other for years but when he found her when she was at the lowest point in her life and brought her back to the village to take her position as Hokage, her life dramatically changed from being engulfed in pain and sadness to a life of happiness and stability. She silently thanked him for that every day. They became closer and started to go out for drinks with each other and when Shizune restricted her from drinking, they would just reminisce about the good old days when they were inexperienced genin.

"_Let's make a bet then." Surely this was the only way that he could reassure her that he would be alright, "You bet that I'm going to die. After all you always lose your bets. But promise me, if I actually do manage to make it back alive…" He stared intently into her eyes. She just looked at him with wide confused eyes. She knew what he was going to say but what would she do if he actually said those words? Was she prepared for that? "I'm just kidding Tsunade. I'm actually quite grateful to you!" Of course he would laugh it off. Maybe he was afraid of getting rejected again for the millionth time._

He wanted to pursue a relationship with her from the very first day he met her but she rejected him over and over again. Maybe it was because he was a little too immature and perverted for her tastes but even when he matured into a man, still perverted but a man; she continued to render all his advances futile. However, lately she has been experiencing strong feelings towards him, feelings that she would never address.

Tsunade lost so much people in her life. She loved her little brother so much and it severely damaged her when he died. To make matters worse she fell in love and he died right in front of her after her failed attempts to heal him. This made her question her skills as a medic and she developed a phobia against blood because of it. She got over it when she had to battle Orochimaru in order to save the village and keep Naruto and his dreams alive. Now the last person who she cared for deeply died and left her too. It seems as if everyone she **loves **leaves her all alone with nothing but her sadness and eternal pain.

"Tsunade girl!"

The words of the elder toad pulled her out of her deep thoughts and brought her back to reality. She looked up to see her trusted assistant and apprentice Shizune looking up at her with worry and concern in her eyes and the elder toad himself who delivered this devastating news.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Tsunade apologized for not paying attention and tried to keep herself together. She was the Hokage so she had to be strong right?

"You just received some terrible news Tsunade girl, its okay to be distraught but you must be strong. You have the village and its people to protect." The elder toad said simply with sympathy in his voice. He knew Tsunade since she was young because she was Jiraiya's team mate so he knew her story. He knew that Jiraiya was close to her. He wasn't just another name on the list of fallen shinobi. He was the closest person to her besides Shizune.

The wise toad relayed all the information Jiraiya left behind to her and she listened as carefully as she could. She was in mourning but she had to act as a responsible Hokage since Pain was a threat to the security of the leaf village. Then it was time to tell Naruto. Hearing the news that Jiraiya died was hard enough for her but it was going to be very hard for her to tell Naruto. She knew that Jiraiya was like a grandfather to him.

"Did you send him?" Naruto asked her while looking at the floor, trying his hardest to contain his anger towards the Hokage.

"That's right." She said simply.

He threw his tantrum and lashed out on her.

"If the pervy sage was Hokage he would never send granny Tsunade on such a dangerous mission by herself, I know it." With that he stormed out to grieve on his own.

Those words stung her. She knew that he would never send her out on a mission like that. She knew that he insisted on going but a part of her blamed herself for his death. She was the Hokage after all. She could have forbid him from going. Then again she knew that he would never listen to her. She didn't know what to think. All she could think about was the fact that her friend was dead and was never coming back. All the time they spent together, the drinks that they had, she would never get those back. All she had left were the memories of him.

Some time past and she was busy working on the information that Jiraiya left behind. Shizune came in often to check on her or to bring her more paperwork or even tea. She could see the pain in Tsunade's eyes and it hurt her to see her master going through such a hard time and pretending to be strong like it didn't faze her at all. Shizune could see behind that mask of hers.

"It's okay to be sad lady Tsunade, even if you are Hokage." Shizune said while placing a gentle hand on her master's shoulder before giving her the privacy that she needed.

When Shizune left, Tsunade got out of her chair and walked over to the window directly behind her desk. She looked out at her village and then to the ledge of the window. She remembered Jiraiya entering her office through that window. A normal person would simply knock on the door and enter but Jiraiya was not a normal person. He was an idiot, but he was her idiot. Her mind travelled to when they were kids.

_The jounin in charge of placing the newly appointed genin to their teams read out the names, "And for team Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade." _

_None of them knew each other so they did not know what to expect. The three kids went outside to meet their sensei and were told to introduce themselves._

"_Orochimaru.", "Tsunade.", "Jiraiya." Were all the kids said but then the white haired genin got a good look at Tsunade. Her amber eyes were sparkling in the sunlight, her blonde hair was tied in a high ponytail. She was flat- chested but was beautiful in his eyes._

"_Why hello there, my name is Jiraiya, you can send love letters later, nice to meet ya." He said with a sparkle in his eye and a wide grin on his face. Surely she gave him a punch but his introduction to her flattered her. From that day on they started to tease each other. Who knew that those two would become such close friends?_

She couldn't hold her emotions in anymore. One single tear slid down her cheek and it was followed by another until the tears came down her cheeks like a waterfall. Memories of him flashed before her eyes and consumed her every thought. She felt as if her heart was breaking into tiny pieces. She just let it all out.

"Why did you have to leave me alone like this you dummy?" She cried then slid onto the ground and brought her legs up to her chest and buried her head in the space between them. The tears slid down her face and onto the ground. She just sat there, whispering his name over and over again as if saying his name alone would bring him back. She wished that it could.

During that time while she was in deep mourning she came to realize that she really did love that perverted idiot. But it severely hurt her when she remembered that she discovered that she was too late.

**I think I'll make this into a multi chapter. I just love this ship so much! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Leave me alone

_I'm so tired of being here_

_Suppressed by all my childish fears_

_And if you have to leave I wish that you would just leave _

_Your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal; this pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cry I wipe away all of your tears_

_When you scream I fight away all of your fears_

_I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have_

_All of me_

**My Immortal – Evanescence**

_*Flashback*_

"_Are you sure you want to do this Tsunade?" The third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi replied when his student asked him for his permission to leave the village. She had a good reason to do so but he was reluctant to agree. He watched her grow from a naïve genin to a beautiful, strong kunoichi, one of the legendary sannin and a suitable candidate to succeed him._

"_Yes, I'm sure. I am no longer deemed fit to carry out the duties of a shinobi." Tsunade replied. She had witnessed too many innocent people die and she had lost too many people dear to her. She was tired of sadness and pain. What if she learned to love another person and he ended up dying as well? No, she could not go through that again. She had to preserve the last of her sanity to raise the little girl that her boyfriend Dan left behind. Dan was her uncle and was the only person that she had left in this world of hatred. That's why Tsunade decided to take Shizune in. Not only because she was alone without a parent or friend, but because she reminded her so much of Dan._

"_Tsunade, you are a student of mine, the best medical ninja, strongest kunoichi and furthermore, you are one of the legendary sannin. You could never be unfit to perform your duties as a shinobi." The third reminded her, "I really don't want you to go Tsunade but I see that there is nothing I can do to make you change your mind."_

_Tsunade then turned her back to the wise old man, "I'm sorry, Sarutobi – sensei." Then she left._

_It was a pleasant, sunny day. Jiraiya was happily sitting on his favorite bench in his favorite spot in the entire village. He watched the happy children as they played games with each other and pretended to be ninjas. He diverted his attention from them to the blank piece of paper that he had before him. He was currently suffering from a severe case of writer's block. He was told that he would travel the world and write novels but he had no idea what to write. The inspiration just was not there. Suddenly a flash of blonde hair caught his eye. He looked up to see his team mate and closest friend Tsunade walking hurriedly towards the main gate of the village. She had a bag slung around her shoulder so he figured that she was going on a mission until he caught sight of the black haired genin by her side. He wondered why the third Hokage would assign a genin to a mission with one of the sannin. When his curiosity got the better of him he decided to confront her._

"_Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted as he tried to catch up to her. She turned around to see him jogging towards her but quickly looked away and continued to walk, "Hey Tsunade wait up!"_

"_Leave me alone Jiraiya!" She called back but he persisted and managed to catch up to her and stand in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, "What do you want?" She asked._

"_Where are you headed to? The old man gave you a mission again?" Jiraiya asked._

"_Fine if you must know… I'm leaving the village for good."_

_It was silent for a while as the hermit tried to process the information that he was just given. His long time friend was leaving the village and would never return. He couldn't fathom the thought. She was the only person in the village who truly understood him. Sure she broke several bones in his body, nearly killed him and brought him public humiliation, but he was her friend. He wanted so much more from her, more than what she was willing to give. He was there to comfort her when her brother died, watched as she fell in love with another man but was still there to lend her a shoulder to cry on when he passed away. He was always there and now she was leaving him._

"_But why?" He asked quietly. She had no idea he could speak so softly._

"_Jiraiya, please don't." _

"_Hey there little girl." He greeted Shizune with a smile, "Here's some money, why don't you go in that shop over there and treat yourself to some candy?" He said while handing her some money. He wanted to have this conversation with Tsunade alone._

_Shizune accepted it, "Thank you mister!" then she ran off in the direction of the store._

"_I don't understand Tsunade, why do you want to leave? The village needs you. What will it do without you?" _

_She closed her eyes and the memories of her brother and Dan flooded her mind. She remembered seeing Dan take his last breath, she remembered all the blood splattered before her and how worthless she felt when all her attempts to save him were futile. She still felt those feelings of worthlessness. "I can't be a shinobi anymore Jiraiya. I'm worthless. The village doesn't need a ninja who is afraid of blood. It just doesn't make any sense for me to be here anymore."_

"_What about the girl? Why are you taking her with you?"_

"_I'm taking Shizune with me because I'm all she has left. Dan was the only person she had and now he's gone so I'm the next best thing." She felt sorry for that little girl every day. Tsunade didn't just doubt her skills as a ninja, she doubted her ability to care for another human being. Shizune was Dan's niece so she did not want to fail her. She didn't want to mess up her life. The very thought of ruining her existence scared Tsunade to death, "I'll teach her everything I know about the way of the ninja. I'll ensure that she is able to fight because if I were to lose her too, there would be no point of me living anymore."_

"_Don't say things like that Tsunade!" He shouted. Jiraiya refused to allow Tsunade to say such things. She was worth way more than that to him. "Believe it or not but there are some people in the village who need you."_

"_Really now? Like who?" She refused to believe that. All the people who wanted her died._

"_Like Sarutobi-sensei."_

"_Oh please Jiraiya." She rolled her eyes. She knew that her sensei loved her but he had his own family and the village to take care of. He had no time to make her feel happy again._

"_Like me. Tsunade, I need you to stay here for me." He reached out and held her soft hand, "I know you probably hate me but if you leave then I will have no purpose to stay here. I'll help you get over your phobia; I'll make you happy again. Just please don't leave." He said all of that with such a serious tone in his voice and his eyes never left hers. He genuinely wanted her to stay, to stay with him._

"_Jiraiya, I can't ask you to do that. It's not your duty to make me happy."_

"_What if I want to make it my duty?"_

_Tsunade was about to say something when they were interrupted by the little genin, "Look at all the candy I got Lady Tsunade!" Shizune squealed with excitement._

"_Come on Shizune let's go." Tsunade said as she pulled the girl to her side and proceeded to walk off without saying goodbye to the white haired man that once stood before her. He just watched the two of them walk towards the gate in the sunlight. It was as if he were glued to the ground. He couldn't move and he couldn't speak. All he could do was watch the most beautiful woman he had ever seen walk away from him and all that he was offering._

_Shizune looked up at her master's face and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. She wasn't quite sure why she was crying but had a feeling that it had to do with the kind man who she just met. "Don't cry lady Tsunade, I'm sure you'll see him again soon."_

_Tsunade looked down at the small girl and pulled her closer to her side. It would be just the two of them from here on out although a part of her wanted to turn back and run towards the man who was still looking on._

_*End of flashback*_

'_I remember now, he didn't want me to leave. He wanted me to stay in the village with him. Why was I crying? Was it because I was in love with him even back then?' _

Once again, Tsunade was consumed by her own thoughts of her fallen friend. It seemed as if she could not get him out of her mind. All she thought about was his smile and all the memories of him. She even woke up in the middle of the night screaming because she had dreams of him and his death. This was not healthy. It was perhaps even worse than the time Dan died.

She needed some alcohol in her system. She thought that alcohol could just drown all her sorrows so that she would be too drunk to think about him. That's all she wanted. She wanted to forget everything about him. She reached into a hidden stash of sake that she kept under her desk. She thanked God that Shizune did not know about her little secret. She popped open the bottle and began to indulge herself.

Jiraiya did not want me to leave. Gulp.

He wanted me to stay with him. Gulp.

I love Jiraiya. Gulp.

Jiraiya… Is dead. Gulp.

The bottle was done so she moved onto the next one and drank away but the thoughts of Jiraiya would not leave her alone. She flung the bottle against the wall and it broke into shattered pieces, the remaining sake splattered on the ground and created a mess that Shizune would have to clean up. Tsunade broke down and sobbed uncontrollably. The village mirrored her gloomy and sorrowful mood and the Heavens wept with her.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed, "Just leave me alone! I don't want to think about you anymore! Just go away!" She cried.

"Sorry Tsunade, but I can't do that."

Her sobs seized and she turned around to see a familiar man standing outside her window with clothes drenched in blood that she hoped was not all his. His hair was messier than usual and stained red. He looked tired and worn. Based on the condition that he was in, it was amazing how he was standing.

"I'm sorry but I couldn't let you win the bet." He said before collapsing onto the ground. His unconscious body laid there but was soon joined by the Hokage who quickly began to pour her healing chakra into him.

**Jiraiya is alive! Find out how in the next chapter. Thank you all who read and all those who reviewed especially, ****JuneGilbertVivianRaeven who was very helpful with her review (PS I love your Jiraiya x Tsunade fanfictions). I really appreciate it.**

**I wanted to start out with that flashback for two reasons. (A) Because we don't really know how Tsunade came to raise Shizune, all we really know is that she is Dan's niece and (B) I wanted to show how long Jiraiya loved Tsunade and how long even Tsunade loved him but did not realize it.**

**The song at the beginning of the chapter really fits Tsunade so I decided to put a little snippet of it in this chapter. If you haven't already heard it I strongly recommend it. It's a really good song.**

**Next chapter will be up soon.**

**Thank you!**


	3. Jiraiya the Gallant

**This chapter explains how Jiraiya survived his grueling battle with Pain.**

Jiraiya's battle with Pain was more than difficult. There was something about him that he could not understand. He resembled his former student Yahiko but possessed the same eyes as his other student Nagato. These eyes were without a shadow of doubt, the legendary rinnegan. Jiraiya had the opportunity to flee the battle but he decided to stay to confirm a thought of his. After some deep thought, he figured out the secret behind Pain. He faced his opponent again but was stabbed mercilessly with several metal rods.

'_So the tale of Jiraiya the gallant comes to an end. But, looking back my life has really been full of nothing but failure. Continually rejected by Tsunade, unable to stop my friend and unable to protect either my student or my mentor. Compared to the great and celebrated deeds of the Hokage, my actions are trifling, insignificant things indeed. I wish I could have died like each of the Hokage. The tale is only as good as its final turn of events. A plot twist. And mistakes are important to the plot too. I've lived my life believing that all the lessons I learned are what homed me. I swore I would accomplish a deed so great that it would obliterate all my failures. I'd die a splendid shinobi. At least that is how it was supposed to go. But this my plot twist, my tale ending like this. The great lord elder prophesized that I would be the one to guide a revolution, a person who would make a great choice that would bring either peace or destruction to the world of the shinobi. I thought I would defeat Pain, stop the Akatsuki and save the world from destruction. But in the end, I failed that too. How pitiful, how sad that this would be the ending twist to the tale of Jiraiya the gallant. What a worthless story it turned out to be.' _

He thought of Naruto and remembered that he was the one who named him. That boy was like the grandson he was never so lucky to have. He remembered something else. He was one of the legendary sannin of the leaf village. That meant that he had a duty to fulfill, the duty to protect his village and the people in it. He propelled himself up on sheer will alone and used the last of his chakra to inscribe a message in code on the back of the elder frog that never left his side. The Pains then realized what he was doing and charged at him, crushing into him, causing the rock he was laying on to slam into the water below. There the toad sage sunk deeper and deeper into the dark abyss of the seemingly never ending lake.

Consumed by his own thoughts of his life, what he accomplished and what he did not, he continued to sink. He thought that was it for him, the end of his story. After concluding that his life story was not worthless at all, the toad sage welcomed death with a smile on his face. Suddenly a bright white light absorbed him and he went into unconsciousness.

* * *

Jiraiya woke up from his unconscious state in a room that was pure white. '_Where am I? Am I in Heaven?'_

He rose to his feet and noticed that he felt no pain. He was not bleeding and the metal rods were not protruding out his back. '_This is strange. I must be in Heaven after all.' _

He decided to walk around but there was nowhere to go and nobody to see. He was trapped. _'Is Heaven supposed to be this lonely?' _

"Long time no see Jiraiya."

Jiraiya turned around to see his old sensei, the third Hokage, sitting on a white bench, fully attired in his Hokage uniform and smoking his pipe. He looked the same as he did the last time Jiraiya saw him alive. Just seeing his face brought back many of Jiraiya's childhood memories.

"Sarutobi-Sensei! It's so good to see you. Is Heaven supposed to be this lonely by the way?" Jiraiya smiled before sitting next to his teacher.

"You're not in Heaven Jiraiya."

"Huh? So we're in Hell?! Was I really that bad sensei?! I mean, all I did was peep at a few beautiful girls. That's not a crime!" Jiraiya was now freaking out.

"Calm down boy! If I'm here there's no way you can be in Hell!"

"Oh!" Jiraiya took a calming breath, "So, where are we?"

"We are in the area between life and death." Sarutobi said simply, "You are being tested to see if you are ready to die or if you are suitable to return to your life and get a second chance. You see that door over there?" He pointed to the door on the left side of the room and Jiraiya nodded, "That's the door to life and the door on the right is the door to death."

"See ya later sensei, I'm going to the door on the left!" Jiraiya said while running towards the door. He grabbed the knob on the door but it refused to open. No matter how much he tried and how hard he pulled, the door would not open.

"The door will not open for you Jiraiya." Sarutobi called out, "You have to be evaluated before you are seen as fit to return to life." He explained.

"Evaluated? Evaluated by whom?"

"The one who controls life and death of course. You can't see him but he's here." Sarutobi said, "Now come on boy, sit by me and tell me about yourself. How has life been since I died?"

Jiraiya sighed deeply. As happy as he was to see his sensei once again he didn't want to sit around and talk about life with a dead person. He was willing to die before he entered this room but ever since he learned that he could have a second chance, he wanted to return to his life. He just hoped that this person who determines if he lives or dies would be on his side. Jiraiya took a seat beside the former Hokage.

"Well sensei, when you died your old friends wanted me to become the Hokage." Jiraiya started.

"That's great; I always did want you to succeed me." The Hokage smiled.

"I'm honored but you know me, I'm not cut out for the job. I want to be free to live my life and not be tied down in an office with piles of paperwork. That would seriously interfere with my research. I obviously turned them down."

"You can't be serious Jiraiya." Sarutobi sighed, "Okay then, who became the Hokage instead?"

"Well they were so fixated on one of the sannin so I volunteered Tsunade." Jiraiya said proudly.

"Tsunade? Nobody had seen her since she left the village!" Sarutobi was shocked by this news. The last time he saw his only female student was when she asked for his permission to leave the village. He allowed her to go with a heavy heart and to this day he regretted ever making her go.

"Well I went on a journey and I found her, taught Naruto the rasengan, fought Orochimaru and brought her back to the village. It was quite the eventful journey." Jiraiya smiled remembering it all.

"Tsunade is the Hokage now?!" Sarutobi said in disbelief.

"Yup and it's all thanks to me!" The sage said with a cocky grin on his face, "Don't worry though, she's doing a fabulous job."

"I'm not worried at all. She was always a smart child and she is the best kunoichi out there. Furthermore she inherited the will of fire from her grandfather the first. The village is in perfectly capable hands."

"She must be so worried right now." Jiraiya remembered their last conversation. She didn't want him to go on the mission that he took upon himself but he insisted, "She must think that I'm dead."

"Huh?"

"Tsunade didn't want me to go on this mission but I insisted. She even wanted me to send her a messenger toad in case I found myself in a difficult position. She wanted to come out and stand by me herself. Of course I didn't send a frog. I couldn't put my hime in danger. I have to get back to her. I promised that I would make it back alive."

"It seems as if you and Tsunade became closer."

"We have. Sure we bicker and she causes me physical pain and humiliation but I'm happy whenever I'm around her. If I die today, I'll never see her face again, I'll never hear her voice. I'll never have my chance to have more than a friendship with her." He smirked, "What am I talking about? She doesn't want to be with me. She just doesn't want to lose another person."

"You have always loved her haven't you?"

"Yes. Unrequited love sucks but I just can't stay away from her."

"Have you ever thought that maybe she doesn't want you to stay away from her?" Sarutobi asked and Jiraiya shrugged, "You two always used to bicker when you were young. I found it quite amusing. You always knew just how to get under her skin."

"Yup, the good old days."

Jiraiya was deeply saddened when he remembered Tsunade. It killed him to know that he might not get the opportunity to return to her. He felt bad for Tsunade. He knew how much people she already lost in her life and he would just add to the list and to her pain. He would hate to be the cause of her grief. Surely by now the elder frog would have gotten to Tsunade to tell her of the terrible news. He wondered how she was, how she was coping with his 'death'. As much as he wanted to be missed, he didn't want her to grieve. He wanted her to continue with life and be happy.

A ray of light shone over Jiraiya and illuminated his body. The third Hokage looked at his student and smiled. He was getting a second chance. Jiraiya was completely unaware of this though. He was just lost in his thoughts.

"I think it's time for you to go now Jiraiya." The third Hokage said while placing a hand on his student for the last time and that was when Jiraiya realized that he was awarded the opportunity to return to his life, "Tell Tsunade I said hi."

Jiraiya looked at his sensei with tears threatening to fall. He always did feel a special connection to him especially since out of Tsunade, Orochimaru and himself, he was the underdog. Sarutobi taught Jiraiya the way of the ninja and even joined him in his perverted acts. Seeing him again was truly a blessing and for that Jiraiya considered himself lucky. The ray of light lifted him from his sitting position and carried him towards the door to life. It gently placed him down beside the door and he looked at his sensei one last time before turning the knob and stepping into the golden light that would take him home.

* * *

Jiraiya opened his eyes and winced in pain. The metal rods were still not in his back but he could feel the pain that he felt while he was sinking in that lake. It was the middle of the night and it was raining heavily so it was hard for him to determine where he was. He realized that he was not in Amegakure anymore. Despite the excruciating pain, he rose to his feet and tried to determine his surroundings. He saw trees and shrubs of bushes. He looked further into the distance and saw the main gate of the leaf village. He knew where he was now. He was just outside the village. Based on the pain he was feeling he concluded that he was suffering from severe internal damage. It was going to be difficult but he knew that he had to make it to Tsunade so that she could heal him. If he stayed here he would die for sure this time. He had no time to waste so he found the strength within to run as fast as he could towards the village.

The village was empty but that was to be expected. It was really late so all the villagers would be asleep. He just hoped that the Hokage wasn't. He made it to the Hokage mansion and jumped up to the floor where Tsunade's office was situated. He stood by the window that he always entered her office through and witnessed something that he would never forget. Tsunade was drinking heavily and looked as if she was in deep thought. Her hair was out of its usual two loose ponytails and her cheeks were rosy. He saw when she threw her half empty bottle of sake against the wall and heard her as she screamed, "Leave me alone! Just leave me alone! I don't want to think about you anymore! Just go away!" His heart broke into tiny microscopic pieces as she screamed and cried. He knew she was referring to him. He just wanted to storm in there and hug her so tight and never let go. He wanted to erase all her pain and wipe away all her tears. He wanted to protect her always.

The pain ripped through his body once again and he felt as if he was going to pass out at any minute. He had to have Tsunade heal him soon so he addressed her plea for him to leave her alone, "Sorry Tsunade, but I can't do that." He watched as she turned around. She looked beautiful even with her tear stained rosy cheeks and her red rimmed eyes, "I'm sorry but I couldn't let you win the bet." Darkness engulfed him and he felt himself fall to the ground. Before going completely blank he felt Tsunade's healing chakra enter his body, smiled as he knew he was in good hands and allowed himself to pass out.

**I almost cried writing this. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter because it was really fun to write.**

**The next chapter will be after Tsunade heals Jiraiya and their first conversation after his 'death'.**

**Thank you to all who read, reviewed, favorited and put this in their alerts. It means so much to me to have people who actually read what I write.**

**Until next time!**


	4. A gesture of love

"_I'm sorry Tsunade but I can't do that."_

Tsunade was frozen when she saw Jiraiya standing outside her window in the pouring rain. He looked like a bloody mess but still had that smile on his face, the smile that allowed her to forget about all her worries.

"_I'm sorry but I couldn't let you win the bet."_

She watched as he collapsed onto the ground and immediately knew that something was wrong within his body. She quickly ran to him and could automatically determine all his injuries without even touching him. She concluded that many of his internal organs including his stomach and liver were ripped to shreds. _'What exactly did he go through to sustain all these injuries?'_ Tsunade then poured her healing chakra into him and pushed away all her questions of how and why and put all her attention on the task she had before her. _'Focus Tsunade, focus. I'm not going to lose him a second time.'_

"Come on Jiraiya, stay with me. You can make it through this just stay with me!" She commanded. She would not give up on him. As long as he was still breathing she would not stop working on him. Even if she had to pull out her chakra from her reserves, she would not stop. She had no intentions on losing him for a second time.

She healed organ after organ until they were all patched up and functioning normally again. He was stable. Satisfied that he was okay she stopped pouring her chakra into him. She stared down at his tired face and just could not imagine the kind of hell he went through for the sake of the village. _'How the hell did he make it back alive? Those injuries should have killed him. The elder toad was sure that he was dead. What the hell happened?' _

Jiraiya's eyes flickered open for a minute to raise his hand to touch Tsunade's soft, still rosy cheek, "Thank you hime. I knew you wouldn't let me die." His eyes closed again and his hand went back to his side as he drifted into unconsciousness once more.

Tears began to form in her eyes but she quickly wiped them away and rose to her feet. She was now soaked from head to toe because of the rain. She gently dragged Jiraiya inside her office and let him lay on the floor as she made her way to the office door to call her assistants, "Genma, Kotetsu! Come here right away!" She called and then went to rejoin Jiraiya on the floor. She continued to look at him and removed a stray lock of hair from his face. Her fingers gently grazed his jaw bone and caressed his cheek. That small gesture felt so intimate to her that she was surprised that she actually did it. It was indeed a gesture of love.

* * *

_The sky was dark and gloomy as if it sensed the mood of all those around and decided to share in their agony. All the shinobi in the leaf village gathered in one area to mourn all those who died in the latest ninja war. Among the fallen shinobi was Tsunade's lover Dan. He was everything she ever wanted in a man. He was gentle, compassionate and shared the same views as her. It was a pity for the leaf village to lose such a noble shinobi. _

_Tsunade stood at his grave dressed standard shinobi, black funeral attire with a single white rose in her delicate hand. Silent tears were streaming down her beautiful face as she mourned the death of the love of her life, the reason for her existence. Nobody cared to comfort her until her team mate and friend, Jiraiya placed a hand on her trembling shoulder. She didn't look up because she knew who it was. He made the exact same gesture when her brother died. She was all too familiar with that gesture. It was a gesture of love. _

_She bent down at the grave and he let go of her shoulder. She placed the rose at the head of the tomb stone and said a silent prayer. She rose to her feet and turned to face the tall man who was directly behind her. She looked up at him with sorrowful eyes and buried her face in his chest. She wept and he just held her. Once again, it was a gesture of love._

* * *

Genma and Kotetsu quickly joined the two sannin in Tsunade's office and were most surprised by what they saw. Everybody in the village was informed that Jiraiya died in battle so they could not believe their eyes. They stood there frozen for a moment until they heard their Hokage's voice.

"I don't know how but he's alive and stable. I want you two to take him to the hospital to be monitored for the night but while transporting him, do so as gently as possible. It would be a disaster if his wounds were to reopen." She instructed before getting up from her sitting position.

The two men gently lifted the other heavy man from the ground. Genma draped one of Jiraiya's arms over his shoulder and Kotetsu did the same. After they were steady, they made their way to the hospital in the dead of night.

* * *

Shizune was woken up by the ruckus that was occurring in the Hokage's office. She exited her bedroom and entered the office to discover what all the commotion was about. Tsunade was seated at her desk when Shizune entered, "Lady Tsunade what was all that commotion about?" She then noticed the empty sake bottle by Tsunade's desk and the shattered one against the wall, "Lady Tsunade where did you get those?! Don't tell me you got so drunk that you were the cause of all the commotion!"

"Shizune calm down it wasn't me." Tsunade started, "I have no idea how but Jiraiya is alive."

"W-what?!" Shizune squealed. She was there when the elder toad pronounced him dead as well.

"He came to me and I assure you it was not a drunken hallucination. His internal damage was so severe; he collapsed right outside my window in the rain. I managed to heal him so I sent him to the hospital with Genma and Kotetsu to be monitored over night. It was amazing how he even got here." Tsunade explained. She couldn't believe that he was alive herself.

"This is unbelievable but I'm so happy. Master Jiraiya is alive!" Shizune squealed with excitement, "Aren't you happy too Lady Tsunade?"

"I really am."

* * *

"YAWN! Boy that was a good. I have never slept so well in my entire life!" Jiraiya woke up in his hospital room. The room was simple with pale pink curtains over the square window, a small chair beside the bed and a wooden bedside table that was accompanied by a vase of two freshly picked yellow flowers.

"Nice to see you awake Master Jiraiya." Said a friendly nurse with pale skin and brown hair that was tied neatly in a single low ponytail, who entered the room with a bowl of oatmeal placed on a wooden tray.

"How long have I been out?" Jiraiya asked while accepting the tray and dipping his spoon into the chunky oatmeal.

"Two days now. Lady Hokage didn't expect you to wake up so soon but your recovering abilities prove to be excellent. I didn't expect any different though since you are one of the sannin after all." She smiled, "And you woke up just in time too."

"Huh? In time for what?" Jiraiya asked.

"For your visitors. Lady Hokage would not allow anyone to see you until you came out of your coma. I already informed her that today would be the day that you would finally wake up since I saw you stirring and talking in your sleep."

"PERVY SAGE!" Naruto shouted as he stormed through the door into the room and threw himself at his teacher, "Don't ever do that again pervy sage! I thought you really died!" Naruto screamed as he clung to his master with tears violently streaming down his face.

"Come on Naruto, a ninja shouldn't cry like this." Jiraiya said while peeling the genin off of him and putting a gentle, reassuring hand on his head, "I hope you didn't take my death too hard now."

"I couldn't help but take it hard you old pervert. I even lashed out at granny Tsunade because I was so depressed." Naruto confessed while quickly wiping away his tears with his hands, "next time don't let granny send you on such a dangerous mission all alone."

"Naruto you idiot, Tsunade didn't even want me to go, I was the one who insisted to go."

"Then why didn't she tell me that?!"

"Because it really wasn't any of your business Naruto." Tsunade said while standing in the frame of the door with Shizune by her side.

"Master Jiraiya!" Shizune exclaimed while running towards him and enveloped him in a gentle hug, "Nice to have you back." She smiled, then made some room for Tsunade but she just stood there in the doorway, looking into Jiraiya's eyes and he looked into hers. Shizune could see that the two of them needed some time alone, "Um, come on Naruto, how about we get some ramen together on me?"

"Really Shizune?" Naruto asked and Shizune nodded her head, "Awesome! See you later pervy sage, bye granny Tsunade!" He grabbed Shizune's hand and ran out gleefully.

After they left Tsunade walked over to Jiraiya's bed side while her eyes never left his. There was so much tension in the air and unspoken feelings. It was really intense. She stood over him and knocked him on the head, trying so hard not to use her full strength, "WHAT THE HELL IS WORNG WITH YOU, YOU IDIOT?!I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD AND YOU JUST SHOWED UP MY WINDOW LOOKING LIKE THE LIVING DEAD WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING OTHER THAT YOU COULDN'T ALLOW ME TO WIN THE BET! HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT I WENT THROUGH WHEN YOU DIED?!"

"I know exactly what you went through Tsunade." He said while holding the part of his head that she hit, "I saw you crying remember?"He then took her soft hand in his rough one and led her to sit on the edge of his bed. He looked right into her amber eyes and wrapped his strong arms around her tiny body, "I put you through hell Tsunade. I'm so sorry for that." He whispered into her hair and breathed in her scent. She smelled like coconut and vanilla essence. If he could, he would stay like this forever, wrapped in her perfect embrace for the rest of his days.

Tsunade pulled away from him, "I'm fine Jiraiya. No need to apologize. I should have stopped you from going on that mission. I can't imagine the hell you must have been through." She said while looking down. She felt guilty for all the physical pain he endured.

"Oh that? That was nothing." He joked.

"Just how strong is Pain?" She knew that he had to be strong to take down one of the legendary sannin and master of the sage mode.

Jiraiya remembered those terrifying eyes of his, his mysterious jutsu and his unbelievable strength. Pain was indeed the toughest opponent he ever went up against. That is why he 'died' trying to defeat him, "Stronger than you could ever imagine. Not even you and I combined can defeat him." He confessed.

"So how are you still alive? The elder frog confirmed that you died. How are you here?"

"Well you don't seem very happy for me to be alive Tsunade." Jiraiya pouted.

"Just answer my question idiot." She demanded.

"I don't really know how to explain it, it's quite complicated and if I were to tell you, you would probably think that I was imagining the entire thing. Just trust me when I say that I'm very lucky." He stated, "Oh and Sarutobi-sensei says hi and you should know that he's very proud of you. Let's just leave it at that."

He expected her to hit him again, complain and demand to know the entire story. But she didn't. She trusted what he said by simply replying, "Okay."

"So tell me Tsunade, when can I get out of here?" He complained.

"You're not getting out of here until I feel that you have recovered enough to do so."

"Come on! How long will it take for you to decide anyway?!"

"When I say so! Now shut up and stay put." She ordered and then got up, "I have work to do." She said while walking towards the door, "By the way." She started, "I really am happy that you are alive."

After that was said she walked out leaving the toad sage completely lost for words but content. He was indeed happy to be back. He truly believed that he was getting a second chance at having a relationship with Tsunade. He just had to find some way to make her realize that he was not going anywhere and that he would love her forever.

**I put this one up fast didn't I? **

**Thank you so much for reading/reviewing. You have no idea how motivated I am to write when you leave a review/favorite/follow.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	5. The same page

After three days, Tsunade was confident enough to discharge Jiraiya from the hospital. He was told to go directly home and rest. Naruto was supposed to be seeing to it that the sage did as he was told but after Jiraiya gave him some money to buy ramen, the genin abandoned his teacher in pursuit of his favorite meal. Instead of going home, Jiraiya decided to pay the Hokage a visit. He hadn't seen her in three days so he missed her terribly. He figured that the reason for not seeing her for so long was due to the fact that she was the Hokage and constantly had work on her desk. He knew that she would be busy at work and he knew that she would be angry with him for not following her strict instructions but he still insisted on seeing his hime.

* * *

Tsunade was swarmed with work. After she completed a pile of paperwork, Shizune would present her with another roof high stack of papers. She was getting fed up with all the work but reminded herself that it came with the job. It was one of the 'perks' of being Hokage.

She felt a presence behind her and knew exactly who it was without even taking a glance behind her, "What is it and why aren't you at home resting?" She said without taking her amber eyes off of the document she had before her.

"What, I can't say hi to my favorite Hokage?" Jiraiya said as he stepped in her office. He noticed all the stacks of paper sitting on the floor and felt bad for his friend. He hated paperwork too.

"Not when she's extremely busy." Tsunade said as she signed the document and placed it in the 'approved' box, "What do you want?"

The toad sage stood directly in front of her desk and leaned down so that his face was in line with hers, "Let's go out for drinks tonight, just you and me." He said with a huge smile on his face. He believed that that smile would convince her to go with him.

"In case you haven't noticed I have a lot of work to do." She said while pointing to all the piles of paper in her office, "This entire Akatsuki thing is a real pain in the ass." She sighed.

"Even the Hokage needs a break." He began, "Come on Tsunade please?" He begged with puppy dog eyes.

She didn't know how but the puppy dog eyes had some effect on her, "I'll think about it." It wasn't a definite answer but she believed that it would keep the sage quiet for a few minutes so that she could focus on her work.

"That's all I ask." He replied, clearly satisfied with her answer.

"I have to concentrate on my work now so that means it's time for you to leave." She said while pointing to the door.

"What? I just got here." He complained.

It wasn't going to be easy to get him out of there without hurting him.

"You can stay under one condition." Tsunade said slyly.

"What's that?"

"You can stay if you help me with my paperwork." Tsunade figured that if she couldn't get him out of there without putting up a fight, she could at least use him to help her complete her work. They'll both win. Tsunade will get her work done faster and Jiraiya would get to stay with her. He could handle the work too since he was the initial choice for the title of Hokage.

"Is there anything else you want me to do? Something other than paperwork?" Jiraiya hated paperwork as much as she hated it.

"If you want to stay grab a seat and get to work." Tsunade said simply then went back to work.

Jiraiya wanted to stay and it was obvious that he had no other options, "Deal."

* * *

The two sannin worked for hours but it seemed as if the paperwork would never end. Shizune kept bringing them more work to do. Jiraiya was getting extremely frustrated with all the work he was presented with. He now knew for sure that his decision to refuse the Hokage position was the right one. He couldn't manage all the work that came with the job. It was driving him insane. He looked up at Tsunade and noticed that she didn't look at all phased by the work. He concluded that she was used to it by now. He felt like a proud parent at their kid's graduation as he watched Tsunade work tirelessly. She truly became the wonderful Hokage that he knew she would be.

Jiraiya's task was to read each document, give his opinion, let Tsunade sign it and throw it in either the 'approved' box or the 'declined' box. The 'declined' box had more documents in it than the other. Some of the requests were just plain ridiculous.

"What do you think about this one?" Jiraiya asked while showing Tsunade the document in his hand, "These people from the rain village are requesting an unreasonable task and are offering little compensation."

Tsunade quickly scanned the paper with her eyes and thought about it before giving her decision, "Toss it." She said simply.

"At your wish Lady Hokage." Jiraiya said then tossed it in the 'declined' box, "I gotta hand it to you Tsunade, the Hokage is tough for enduring all of this." He admitted. All the work was mind-blowing.

"I'm glad you realize it. Being Hokage is not easy."

"Yeah well you make a great Hokage."

"Well I didn't think I would be at first." She said then her mind wandered to the time when she first became the fifth Hokage.

* * *

_Tsunade looked out at her village, the place where she was born and raised and now governed. She saw all the villagers looking up at her with eagerness in their eyes, eager to hear what their new Hokage was going to say and eager to see what will come to them in the future under her rule. After deciding that she could not keep them waiting anymore, Tsunade took off the Hokage hat and began to speak to the population, "From this day forward I shall protect the village, as the fifth Hokage!"_

_The crowd went wild. They all cheered and let out all of their built up excitement. They were all relived to have a new Hokage, the person that would bring stability to their village once again. Tsunade was then whisked away into a room in the Hokage mansion where she signed a document that all the Hokages before had to sign. It was a document that officially stated that she was the fifth Hokage. Tsunade was now officially inaugurated as the Hokage._

_Tsunade journeyed to her office and once she entered she shut the door behind her. After all the excitement of getting to the village and being presented to the public, the reality finally sunk in. She was now responsible for the lives of all the people who cheered for her today. She was in charge of keeping her grandfather's treasure safe. She was in charge of everything. A sudden fear overcame her as she processed this. She was worried that she could not be the Hokage that the village needed._

_She heard a knock at the door and turned around. She was greeted by a familiar white-haired toad sage, "Hello there Lady Hokage." He said._

"_Don't call me that. It sounds weird." _

"_Well get used to it because everybody is gonna call you that from now on." He reminded her._

"_It sounds especially weird coming from you." She said then walked over to her window so she could look out at the village. She could see everything from where she stood._

_Jiraiya sensed that something was wrong with his friend. He knew her too well. He knew when she was happy, sad and pensive. Right now she was pensive, "What's wrong?"_

_She smiled. She knew that she couldn't hide anything from him. She sighed and decided to tell him her problems, "This office belonged to my grandfather, grand-uncle, sensei and the forth. It's just weird to think that now it's mine. I keep imagining myself in front of that desk receiving a mission from the Hokage. I can't imagine myself sitting at the desk issuing missions to other shinobi. When I think about the splendid ninja that the previous Hokages were, I can't help but feel inadequate. They were all so kind and dedicated to the village. I'm no comparison to them. I admit that I am quick to anger, I can be mean at times and all I did was abandon the village. I guess what I'm trying to say is, compared to my predecessors; I don't think I'm good enough. I don't know if I can be the Hokage that this village needs and deserves."_

_He couldn't stand to see her so unsure of herself, "Ok that's it. It's true Tsunade; you're not Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen or Minato. You're Tsunade and nothing is wrong with that. Each and every Hokage had their strengths and weaknesses and so do you but guess what Tsunade, nobody is perfect. We all have our imperfections but that's what makes us human. You're smart, strong, beautiful and you're a splendid ninja as well. As for the villagers, I know that they're happy and relieved to have you as their Hokage. The men love you, the women want to be you and the kids look up to you. I can assure you that all the female genin identify with you and are striving to be just like you. Just ask Naruto, he told me that all his friend Sakura talks about is you. She wants to be like you. So don't doubt yourself for a second Tsunade. You're going to be an amazing Hokage. I guarantee it."_

_Somehow the sage made her feel so much better about herself. He always knew exactly what to say to make her feel happy._

* * *

Tsunade never forgot those words. Every time she felt insecure, she would remember what he told her and she would regain her confidence. She silently thanked him for that every day, "Thank you for that Jiraiya." She said sincerely.

"Don't mention it, what I said was true."

"Thanks anyway. That meant a lot to me."

Jiraiya smiled and nodded.

They worked for a couple more hours until Jiraiya got extremely bored and fed up, "Okay I'm officially tired of this!" Jiraiya exclaimed while getting out of his seat and throwing down his pen. He went over to Tsunade and grabbed her hands in an attempt to get her out of her chair, "Let's go for that drink now."

Tsunade pulled her hands out of his. She looked around her office and saw all that was left to be done, "We're not done here!"

"The paperwork will still be here tomorrow." He whined.

"Yeah but tomorrow it will be accompanied by more work!" Tsunade shouted. Usually she would be the first one to throw down her pen and go for a drink but the work was too much to handle.

"Come on! We need a break."

Tsunade thought about it for a while. Jiraiya was obviously not going to let it go and she was getting stressed and thirsty. She looked up at the clock and disappointment was evident on her face, "We can't go anyway. The place is closed."

"Damn it!" Jiraiya could not believe that they worked for that long.

"Don't worry though." Tsunade said as she reached under her desk to open her secret compartment and surfaced with a bottle of sake, "We can have some fun with this." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

"What if Shizune comes in and sees you drinking on the job?"

"It's late so she's probably sleeping. Don't be such a goody goody. I thought you wanted to drink with me." She said while clearing her desk of all the paper and writing utensils. She then sat on top of it with the sake bottle in the middle of the desk and motioned Jiraiya to have a seat at the opposite end of the table.

Jiraiya did as he was told, "You know normal people wouldn't sit on the desk." He said.

"Well I'm not in the accompany of a normal person." Tsunade smiled.

They both took turns at drinking from the bottle. They spoke about the village, their younger days and their conversation even brought them to the topic of Naruto and his parents. They just sat there engaging in idle conversation until suddenly things became more intimate between the two sannin.

"I like spending time with you like this." She admitted while reaching out for the bottle and brought it to her lips to take a sip. She then put it down but her hand didn't leave it, "When you died I really missed this. I missed you." She confessed.

Jiraiya's hand reached out to the bottle and purposefully touched her hand and his thumb gently stroked it, "I'm sorry Tsunade."

"Well you're here now so don't worry about it." She said while looking into his eyes. His hand was still on top of hers and she didn't try to remove it. They stayed like that in silence for a while, eyes locked until Jiraiya broke the silence.

"It's really late Tsunade. I should get going." Jiraiya said as he removed his hand and got off of the desk, "This was fun, well minus the work part." He walked towards her, "I hope we can do this again soon." Then he bent down to give her a sweet kiss on her cheek. To his surprise, she didn't punch him or call him a pervert. She allowed herself to be kissed, "See ya." Then Jiraiya exited her office through the window with his heart filled with happiness. Perhaps now they were finally on the same page.

Tsunade continued to sit there as she processed what just happened between them. That was the first time he ever dared to kiss her. The simple touching of their hands felt so intimate to her and this kiss was even more intimate but felt oddly natural to her. She just allowed him to kiss her and not a bone in her body was reluctant to receive it. She didn't understand the effect that her team mate had on her but it felt so right and she could not get enough of him.

**I have all the ideas for the next two chapters written down so all that is left to do is to type them.**

**Thanks for your continued support. **

**Stay tuned and don't forget to review!**


	6. Just Go

He kissed her. It was just a simple kiss on the cheek but if felt like so much more to her. The moment his lips touched her pale skin a shiver ran down her spine and caused goose bumps to emerge. It felt so strange but so right. She didn't want him to stop. She wanted him to continue to kiss her and perhaps move his lips from her cheek to meet her own soft lips. She wanted the kiss to intensify and perhaps lead to something much more intimate.

Despite all the good feelings that kiss allowed her to experience, Tsunade was in a state of great confusion. She didn't know what to think or what to do about these intense feelings she felt towards Jiraiya. After all the years she rejected him and physically and emotionally harmed him, why does she now love him? Why does she actually want to be in a relationship with him? Did she love him from the very beginning?

* * *

_It was a long day at the academy. Tsunade was just placed in her new team. Her teammates were Orochimaru, the orphan boy who resembled a snake but was a genius in his own right, and Jiraiya the perverted idiot who was at the bottom of the class, the laughing stock of the academy. Her sensei however, was a well respected shinobi from one of the most powerful clans in the leaf village, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Tsunade's initial meeting with her new teammates wasn't exactly the most pleasant, especially since she punched Jiraiya so hard that he was sent flying all the way over to the training field. He asked her to write him love letters. The very thought of the lamest guy in the academy asking her for love letter repulsed her._

_Tsunade decided to pay her grandfather, the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju a visit. They shared a very close relationship. Hashirama taught her everything he knew about the way of the ninja and instilled the will of fire into her. He even taught her how to gamble although she wasn't any good. It was their little secret though. If Tsunade's parents found out about her new hobby, they would surely give Hashirama a stern lecture._

"_Hello there Princess Tsunade." Said the guard stationed at the door of the Hokage mansion, "Are you here to see your grandfather?" _

_Tsunade nodded, "I'm here to tell him about my day. I was placed in my squad today."_

"_Okay but bear in mind that he might be busy."_

"_He's never too busy for me." Tsunade smiled then entered the mansion. She made her way down the hall and approached the door to the first's office. She knocked politely, waited for an invitation to go in and then entered._

"_Hi grandpa!" She said as she ran over to him and gave him a big hug._

"_Hi there Tsunade. Are you here to tell me about your new squad? I'm sure it will be promising." Hashirama smiled down at his granddaughter. _

"_Well, I don't know how promising it will be. My sensei is Hiruzen Sarutobi and one of my teammates is a genius but they're not the ones I'm worried about." She started, "My other teammate is Jiraiya, that boy with spiky white hair. He was the dumbest in the academy and now he's on my team. He's also a huge pervert and wanted me to write him love letters so I punched him."_

"_Tsunade! You should not have punched him!" Hashirama scolded._

"_Nobody is ever nice to him though." She complained._

"_Well everybody is wrong for treating him badly. They don't know about his past and neither do you so you shouldn't treat him like that just because he isn't the strongest student."_

"_What about his past grandpa?" Tsunade asked. She was curious as to why her grandfather was defending Jiraiya._

"_I can see you're curious. I'm going to tell you so that you can reevaluate your actions and attitude towards him but you should not tell anybody else. Understood?"_

_She nodded and he continued, "Jiraiya is also an orphan just like your other teammate Orochimaru. His parents died when he was an infant so he never knew the love of a mother or a father. Jiraiya was raised in an orphanage with many other children so he never got the sufficient love and care that he needed. As for being a pervert, have you ever thought that it is because he is seeking attention? Tsunade, you are very lucky. You live a very fortunate life, you have both mother and father and your future is bright but you should not look down on people just because they're not as smart as you or have the same things you have. So find it within yourself to sympathize with Jiraiya and be his friend. Trust me Tsunade, he's going to need a friend, we all do. If you don't listen to anything else I say, please remember what I just told you."_

_From the day Hashirama told Tsunade of Jiraiya's past she tried her hardest to be his friend and to be kind to him. She still punched him whenever he did something perverted. She couldn't help herself when it came to that. She was a girl after all, a strong-willed and easily angered girl at that. But when anybody tried to make fun of him or belittle him, Tsunade would beat them to a pulp. _

_Many people in her year group were jealous of her because of the kind of life she lived and the prestige of her clan but Jiraiya was never jealous. He just wanted to be her friend and for that Tsunade grew to like him as a person and truly became his friend and not just because her grandfather told her to do so. The two of them together with Orochimaru faced life and death situations together and that only strengthen the bond that they shared. Somewhere down the line, Tsunade developed strong feelings for Jiraiya but buried them deep down within herself, never to let free. For some reason, she was unwilling to allow herself to love him but she was unclear as to why._

* * *

When Jiraiya 'died' the feelings towards him that she hid for so long resurfaced and she realized them once again. This time she was entirely sure as to why she did not want to love him. She was afraid to lose yet another person in her life. She loved her grandfather and he died, she loved her parents and they died, she loved her brother and he died and she loved Dan but he died as well. Everybody she truly loved died. She couldn't possibly handle another death of a loved one and there was no guarantee that Jiraiya wouldn't die and leave her again. Everybody had to die.

So she loved him with all her heart but she did not want to love him. She couldn't bury her feelings for him anymore though. It was as if she lost her ability to hide away her feelings and thoughts of Jiraiya. As long as she continued to come into contact with him, her feelings for him would only intensify.

Tsunade decided that she had to completely block Jiraiya out of her life. As painful as it was to do that, it would be more painful to love him entirely and lose him. She had to fall out of love with him as quickly as possible. She took extreme measures. She didn't read any of his letters, she instructed Shizune and the guards around the Hokage mansion to forbid Jiraiya from entering the premises and to tell him that she was in a meeting with the elders. She even went as far as to install a lock on her window and keep it closed at all times.

* * *

"Pervy sage what's wrong?! Come on you're supposed to be training me not sitting under the tree looking off in the distance!" Naruto complained. He and Jiraiya were at the training field. He was practicing and perfecting his jutsus. His goal was to become Hokage so he was working tirelessly in order to accomplish that goal. But his sensei was not cooperating today. His mind seemed to be on something that was not about Naruto or his training.

"Pipe down kid! Don't you see that I'm thinking over here?!" Jiraiya shouted back at him.

Naruto sighed and walked over to his master, "Okay, something is wrong." He said before taking a seat next to Jiraiya, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not going to tell a kid like you my problems." Jiraiya said stubbornly.

"Do you have anyone else to talk to?" Naruto said annoyed. He did have a point. Jiraiya didn't really have a male friend to talk to. He would talk to Kakashi but he was currently on a mission.

"Okay fine I'll tell you." Jiraiya started but suddenly became hesitant, "Maybe you're too immature for this kind of stuff."

"I'm sixteen Pervy sage! Now spill it!" Naruto shouted. He hated how Jiraiya treated him like a kid at times.

"Okay, okay!" Jiraiya sighed before continuing, "It's about Tsunade."

"Huh? What about granny? Did she beat you up again?"

"No you idiot! But it feels like she beat me up inside."

"What'd she do?" Naruto was now concerned. He never saw his master so serious and sad before.

"Okay I guess I'll start at the beginning." Jiraiya took a deep breath before continuing, "Before I went on that mission, Tsunade didn't want me to go. She told me to come back alive. She looked so worried so we made a bet. I told her to bet that I would die and I betted that I would live. Tsunade always loses her bet after all. I thought I was going to die after that bastard Pain stabbed me with his metal rods but I survived and made it back to the village. I saw Tsunade crying when I came back. She was a mess. It warmed my heart to know that she was so upset that I was dead but it also killed me to see her like that. I collapsed and she healed me. That's how I'm still alive today. Lately Tsunade has been more friendly and affectionate towards me, she didn't even punch me or push me away when I kissed her cheek."

"EWWWWWW! YOU KISSED GRANDMA?! PERVY SAGE WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME THAT?!" Naruto squirmed. The thought of his Hokage and his master getting intimate with each other made him uncomfortable.

"YOU WANTED TO HEAR THE STORY MORON NOW SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" Jiraiya shouted. Naruto really was immature, "Continuing." He said before clearing his throat, "I thought we were on the same page but I was obviously wrong."

"What do you mean? How are you wrong? If granny Tsunade didn't reject you for the past couple of days, why would you think that you're wrong?"

"She's avoiding me Naruto. I haven't seen or heard from her in three days. She's not responding to any of my letters, she's constantly in a 'meeting' and her guards won't even allow me on her premises!"

"Huh?! So why is granny Tsunade doing that to you?"

"Beats me." Jiraiya sighed.

"You know what I would do?"

"What?"

"I would sneak in there and demand to know the reason why she's avoiding me."

"How am I supposed to do that when I can't even get near to her?"

"Seriously pervy sage? You're one of the sannin! I'm sure you can sneak in somewhere without being noticed." Naruto reminded him.

"Why didn't I think of that before?"

"Because you were too busy wallowing in self pity." Naruto teased.

"SHUT UP!" Jiraiya screamed.

"So are you going to go to her or stay here and train me?"

"See ya later Naruto!" Jiraiya called as he ran out of the field.

'_When did he get up?' _Naruto wondered, shrugged it off and then went back to training.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, how long do you want me to continue to lie to Master Jiraiya? I'm sure he caught on by now." Shizune asked. The two women were in the Hokage office. Tsunade was looking out at the village and Shizune was pouring Tsunade some tea. Shizune was getting tired of lying to the toad sage. She was such a good, genuine person so lying was completely out of character for her, even if it was to please her master. She wouldn't go against Tsunade's wishes though. She had too much love and respect for her to be defiant.

"As long as it takes." Tsunade replied simply.

"As long as it takes for what?" Shizune asked confused.

"That will be all Shizune. Thank you." Tsunade said while picking up her cup of tea and dismissed Shizune.

Shizune nodded and exited. She could tell that her master was hiding something from her but she knew what was going on. She knew Tsunade too well.

Tsunade hated doing this to Jiraiya. It was hard to keep him out of her life and all of her efforts to do so were proving to be futile. She still couldn't stop thinking about him. The only thing that their separation did for her was to stop her feelings from intensifying. The feelings were still there however. She wondered if they would ever go away.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was devising his plan to enter the Hokage building. After coming up with a plan that he deemed to be foolproof, he started to put it into action. He hid in the bushes close to the mansion but was out of the guards' vision and transformed himself into Sakura Haruno. He then gathered a handful of leaves and transformed them into stacks of paper. Satisfied with his transformation, the toad sage made his way to the building, "Hi Izumo, Kotetsu!" Jiraiya said in a very girly voice, "I'm just going to deliver these papers from the hospital to Lady Tsunade. The patients are recovering nicely. I'm sure she will be pleased to hear that."

"We're sure she will be too Sakura. She's in her office; you can go right on up." Kotetsu smiled.

"Thanks!" He said joyfully. The first phase of his plan worked. He walked into the building and was on his way to Tsunade's office until he bumped into Shizune. The stacks of paper were too high and blocked his vision so he did not see her coming. He fell over and his transformation jutsu wore off.

Shizune saw the jutsu wear off and noticed Jiraiya on the ground, "Master Jiraiya! You can't be in here! Lady Tsunade is in a meeting!" Shizune lied. Tsunade would surely kill her if she knew he managed to enter the building.

"I know that's a lie Shizune." Jiraiya said as he got up, "I really need to talk to Tsunade so please allow me to do so."

"I'm sorry Master Jiraiya but I can't do that! I promised Lady Tsunade!" She explained.

"I'm sorry to do this." Jiraiya realized that Shizune would not let him through so he tripped her and made a run to Tsunade's office.

"Master Jiraiya!" She called after him but he continued running.

"Sorry!" He called back. He then stormed in the office and caused Tsunade to jump and turn around to face her intruder.

"J-Jiraiya? What are you doing in here?!" She said shocked. She wondered how he got in but then remembered who he was. He was the Great Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin. She should have taken more extreme measures.

"Nice meeting. Where are the elders?" Jiraiya said sarcastically.

Tsunade didn't say anything. She just looked at him in shock.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"I don't have to tell you anything." She said then turned around once again to face the window.

"I just don't understand why you would want to do that. Do you hate me that much?" He asked.

Hate? How could she hate him? "I don't hate you idiot. I just don't want to see you." Tsunade explained then turned around to face him.

"Why? Why don't you want to see me? What did I do wrong?" he demanded to know why she was doing this to him.

"I really don't want to talk about this right now. We can discuss this tomorrow."

"We both know that's a lie." Jiraiya said, "Tomorrow you'll just make up another stupid excuse not to see me." Jiraiya started, "I thought we were finally on the same page. Ever since I came back you have not rejected me. When I touched your face after you healed me, when I hugged you, when I touched your hand and when I kissed you, you have not punched me once. I just don't know what you want anymore."

"Why do you keep coming back? I hurt you, I call you names, I embarrass you, I allowed you to go on a suicide mission and I almost killed you once and yet you keep coming back to me and act like nothing happened, like I haven't caused you enough pain. Why do you do that? Why won't you abandon me? I deserve it!" She shouted. She couldn't understand for the life of her why he kept coming back.

"Because I love you Tsunade!" Jiraiya confessed, "All along, from the very first day I laid eyes on you, I fell in love with you. When you fell in love with Dan I tried to stop loving you but I couldn't. That's why I was there for you when he died. I didn't want to see you sad. I never want to see you sad. I wanted to stop you from leaving the village because I wanted you to stay and be with me. But I couldn't stop you. I regret that every day."

Tsunade was frozen, lost for words. Jiraiya just confessed his love for her. She always knew that he had a crush on her ever since they were kids but she dismissed it and thought of it as a perverted thing. Never once did she think that he actually loved her. Now here he was standing before her, wearing his heart on his sleeve and all she could do was stand there looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"I loved you from the very beginning Tsunade but it's obvious that you don't love me."

"Jiraiya I –"She at least managed to utter that out but stopped herself before finishing her sentence. Did she want to tell him how she really felt?

"What? You what?"

"I… I."

"Just say it Tsunade, tell me what you have to say." He demanded.

She closed her eyes and images of Dan and Nawaki flashed before her eyes. She saw their faces and their beautiful smiles. Images of herself with them came to her mind. She saw herself as she hugged Nawaki and healed his wounds that he received from being reckless. She saw herself kissing Dan and resting her head upon his shoulder. She then saw images of their dead, bloody bodies lying on the ground and saw herself standing over them, so helpless, unable to do anything but weep.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Jiraiya. He was expecting her to tell him what she was about to say before those images flooded her thoughts and silenced her.

"Just go." She said with tears forming in her eyes.

"Whatever you say lady Hokage."

She watched as he turned from her and exited her office. The door slammed behind him. She remembered seeing the pain in his eyes as he confessed his love to her and the tears fell down her cheeks like a waterfall and she allowed herself to weep.

* * *

**I decided to put that flashback in there to show a little background history on Jiraiya and show how Tsunade and Jiraiya truly became friends. And who doesn't like a little bit of Hashirama?**

**This is the second to last chapter guys :( **

**Thank you for all your reviews and all my silent readers. Thanks to those you have favorited and followed. **

**The last chapter will be up soon and I'll try my best to make it the best one yet.**

**Until next time friends!**


	7. Pieces

"_Why do you keep coming back? I hurt you, I call you names, I embarrass you, I allowed you to go on a suicide mission and I almost killed you once and yet you keep coming back to me and act like nothing happened, like I haven't caused you enough pain. Why do you do that? Why won't you abandon me? I deserve it!" She shouted. She couldn't understand for the life of her why he kept coming back._

"_Because I love you Tsunade!" Jiraiya confessed, "All along, from the very first day I laid eyes on you, I fell in love with you. When you fell in love with Dan I tried to stop loving you but I couldn't. That's why I was there for you when he died. I didn't want to see you sad. I never want to see you sad. I wanted to stop you from leaving the village because I wanted you to stay and be with me. But I couldn't stop you. I regret that every day."_

_Tsunade was frozen, lost for words. Jiraiya just confessed his love for her. She always knew that he had a crush on her ever since they were kids but she dismissed it and thought of it as a perverted thing. Never once did she think that he actually loved her. Now here he was standing before her, wearing his heart on his sleeve and all she could do was stand there looking like a deer caught in headlights._

"_I loved you from the very beginning Tsunade but it's obvious that you don't love me."_

"_Jiraiya I –"She at least managed to utter that out but stopped herself before finishing her sentence. Did she want to tell him how she really felt? _

"_What? You what?" _

"_I… I." _

"_Just say it Tsunade, tell me what you have to say." He demanded._

_She closed her eyes and images of Dan and Nawaki flashed before her eyes. She saw their faces and their beautiful smiles. Images of herself with them came to her mind. She saw herself as she hugged Nawaki and healed his wounds that he received from being reckless. She saw herself kissing Dan and resting her head upon his shoulder. She then saw images of their dead, bloody bodies lying on the ground and saw herself standing over them, so helpless, unable to do anything but weep._

_She opened her eyes and looked up at Jiraiya. He was expecting her to tell him what she was about to say before those images flooded her thoughts and silenced her._

"_Just go." She said with tears forming in her eyes. _

"_Whatever you say lady Hokage." _

_She watched as he turned from her and exited her office. The door slammed behind him. She remembered seeing the pain in his eyes as he confessed his love to her and the tears fell down her cheeks like a waterfall and she allowed herself to weep._

* * *

Tsunade was standing on the roof of the Hokage mansion. The sky was golden and it was as if the village took on that golden color. The sight from up there was beautiful. One who stood up there could see the village in its entirety and marvel in its beauty. The leaf village truly was a magnificent piece of treasure in the world.

She was now well aware that Jiraiya, her old teammate and closest friend was in love with her. Now she is caught in an internal battle with herself. Her heart was telling her to let go of all her insecurities and give herself completely to him but her brain was telling her to ignore all her feelings towards him and stay away from him because she might lose him again and will be forced to go through the process of mourning if that were to happen. She wanted to love him, she really did but she needed to be sure that he would not leave her again. She couldn't handle the tears, the nightmares, the days of extreme loneliness. She just couldn't handle any of it, not again.

* * *

_Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade were assigned to a mission in the land of waves. It was their most dangerous mission to date as genin ninjas. They were not sure what to expect but there was some fear within all three of them. Jiraiya of course pretended to be fearless and this almost cost him his life._

_The three were attacked by rogue ninja while walking through the forest on their way to their destination. Kunais were flying everywhere which created an extremely dangerous setting. The ninja who attacked them were jounin ninjas so their skills surpassed their own. _

_Jiraiya was reckless and tried to take on one of the ninjas head on. He was not fast enough and was stabbed by the enemy. Orochimaru saw this and threw his own kunai strait into the heart of the ninja who stabbed Jiraiya, "Tsunade, Jiraiya is injured!" Orochimaru shouted. Tsunade was engaged in her own battle. She managed to use her insane strength to kick her opponent so hard that he flew straight into a pointed tree bark that ended his life. Tsunade looked around her and saw more ninja, "Don't worry about them Tsunade, I'll finish them off, just tend to Jiraiya now!" Orochimaru shouted while fighting off their enemies. _

_Tsunade did as she was told and ran towards Jiraiya who was now lying on the ground bleeding profusely. Tsunade just learned medical ninjutsu so she was unsure of her abilities. She remembered what her sensei told her…_

'_Tsunade, as the only medical ninja on your team your duty is to heal Orochimaru and Jiraiya if they are injured. You must keep those two safe. No matter how scared or uncertain you are, you must fulfill your role as a medic.'_

_After remembering those words, she quickly assessed his injuries. He was stabbed right in the abdomen and was experiencing internal bleeding. She immediately put her hands to the wound and began pouring her chakra into him. Medical ninjutsu required excellent chakra control so she had to block out all of the distractions in her surroundings and concentrate. She had Jiraiya's life in her hands so she could not let him down. _

"_Tsunade, don't bother waste your chakra on me, go help Orochimaru. It's okay to let me die." Jiraiya said weakly._

"_Shut up you idiot! You're not allowed to die!" Tsunade shouted._

"_Just leave me. All I do is bring down the team. If I wasn't being so reckless I wouldn't be in this position and you would not have to waste your chakra on me."_

"_I'm not leaving you like this Jiraiya! I refuse to let you die so quit talking and save your strength! Just stay with me, don't you dare leave me like this!"_

_Jiraiya did as he was told. He could hear the fear and worry in her voice and he didn't like that at all. Tsunade continued to work until she was successful. Jiraiya was stable. He didn't leave her. He did as he was told and stayed with her through it all._

* * *

_It had been years since Tsunade left the leaf village. She lived her life moving from one town to the next, living in various inns and gambling in all the halls she could find. During those years she trained her new apprentice Shizune and taught her medical ninjutsu. She promised herself that she would not allow any harm to come to her and she managed to keep her promise for all those years. _

_It was lonely for her despite the fact that Shizune was constantly by her side. She missed the people in her village that she grew to know. She especially missed her friend Jiraiya who never abandoned her despite all she had done to him. She remembered the last conversation they had before she left and she remembered the pain she saw in his eyes. She could tell that he really wanted her to stay._

_Tsunade was now in Tanzuku town. She had a bad feeling about the town though since she was winning in every casino she went in. She took that as a bad omen. The meeting with Orochimaru and his new apprentice confirmed her bad feelings. He told her that he killed their former sensei and was striving to destroy the village. He wanted her to heal his arms in order to do that. She refused at first but then he promised to bring Dan and Nawaki back to life and that tempted her. He gave her three days to come up with an answer._

_Later on in the night, Tsunade and Shizune were in a bar. Tsunade was of course getting drunk. Jiraiya just so happened to walk in the bar and saw his longtime friend. The two of them sat at the same table and played a game of cards when Jiraiya told her that she was chosen to be the new Hokage. She refused the position initially. Jiraiya and herself went out for drinks a couple of times within the three days and Tsunade had to admit that it was great to see him again but she had something else on her mind so she had no time to allow herself to be happy. She was still thinking about Orochimaru's offer._

_The three days came and went and after much thought Tsunade refused to heal Orochimaru's arms. They engaged in a fight, one that Jiraiya joined later. Jiraiya and Tsunade won the battle and Tsunade accepted the position of Hokage. They all went back to the village._

_While they were walking home Tsunade walked up to Jiraiya so that they were walking side by side, "Why did you come for me?" She asked._

"_Because the elders wanted you to be the Hokage." He replied simply._

"_That can't be the only reason."_

"_To tell you the truth Tsunade, I promised myself when you left that one day, somehow I would look for you and bring you home. I was going to look for you even if the elders never wanted you to become Hokage."_

"_But why?"_

"_Because I never wanted you to leave me. Now we can pick up where we left off and strengthen our friendship."_

_Tsunade truly missed him and he saved her from loneliness. In a way he never left her since she always thought of him. He came back for her and now she was going home._

* * *

"_You're dealing with someone who is strong enough to keep the Akatsuki in line and you're gonna waltz right into their turf." Tsunade said. The two sannin were sitting on a bench in the village. It was sunset and Jiraiya was getting ready to go on a very dangerous mission. It was evident that Tsunade was extremely worried about the safety of her friend and despite her opposition to him going alone, he insisted. So here they were having a conversation that neither of them were aware would be their last._

"_Yes, I should be going." Jiraiya said as he got up from his sitting position and gathered his oversized scroll that was leaning against the wooden bench._

"_Come back alive…" Tsunade started and Jiraiya turned around with a shocked expression on his face, "If I lose you too I…"_

"_Are you gonna cry for me?! Ha-ha I'm honored! I don't suppose I'll get as many tears as Dan did though." Jiraiya joked._

"_Ass hole." _

"_All right how about we your gambling skills to use? You put everything on me dying. You always pick the losing bet but promise me, if I actually do manage to make it back alive…"_

_Tsunade started at him with wide eyes._

"_Hahahahaha! I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Getting dumped always makes a man stronger. And if he hasn't experienced it enough to be able to laugh and joke about it or at least use it as material, he can't fulfill his duties as a man."_

"_So it's the man's responsibility to be strong?"_

"_Pretty much. But then again, men aren't meant to pursue happiness."_

"_Bah… You men are all alike. Without women around, there'd be no one to reject your advances and toughen you up."_

"_Very true."_

_A moment of silence occurred._

"_Send one of your toads if anything happens. I'll come and back you up immediately."_

"_I don't think so; you absolutely have to remain in the village. This place relies on you to keep it together."_

"_There are plenty of other worthy candidates for Hokage."_

"_How are people supposed to be comfortable living here if their leader is constantly changing? You're the best person for the job in the village and that's that."_

_Tsunade and Jiraiya then started to talk about Naruto and his parents. They spoke about how skilled Minato, the fourth Hokage was and how rambunctious but beautiful Kushina was. Jiraiya stated that he liked to think of Naruto as his own grandchild._

"_Okay, so I'll be off." Jiraiya said as he fastened his scroll onto his back. Tsunade watched as he did so with sorrowful eyes, "Ah yes! Let me give you one last word of advice."_

"_What?"_

"_Remain careful of 'root'" _

"_I know."_

"_That's a relief." He said as he walked off, "See ya later." He gave her a thumb up and continued to walk off into the sunset._

_Tsunade continued to look on with tears streaming down her face._

_It had been a while since Jiraiya left on his mission and Tsunade couldn't help but be worried. She received terrible news from the elder frog. Jiraiya died in battle. She felt as if her entire world was crumbling beneath her and she was falling into a dark abyss until her toad sage came back to her._

"_I couldn't let you win the bet."_

_He won his bet and made it back alive even though she thought he was dead. He didn't leave her._

* * *

After Tsunade remembered all of those events with Jiraiya she realized that he never really left her in her life. Either mentally or physically, he was always there. He always came back to her. Out of all the people in her life, he was always a constant. In her times of happiness and in times of great despair, he was always her partner to laugh with or a shoulder to cry on. How did she not realize this before? Tsunade felt terrible. She was always running from him or pushing him away while he never left her. She now knew that the reason for this was because he was deeply in love with her and she was now one hundred percent sure that she was in love with him too.

She was no longer afraid to love him. She was confident that he would never leave her. Even if he were to die tomorrow, she knew that his spirit would always be with her. She would never be alone as long as Jiraiya was in her life. And even if she pushed him away to the point where he never came close to her again, he would still be there for her if she was ever to need him.

Tsunade felt her lips curve into a genuine smile. She was truly happy after her realization. She just wanted to run to wherever Jiraiya was and tell him that she was sorry over and over again until she was satisfied that he knew that she truly meant it. She suddenly had the burning desire to find him. Tsunade thought about where he could be. She thought about it for a while and remembered where he always went to think, the top of the Hokage Mountain.

The Hokage left her mansion and started towards the mountain. Her heart was pounding as she walked. Several insecurities were brought up in her mind. She thought about how he would react, if he still wanted to be with her and if he would even listen to what she had to say. She quickly pushed those thoughts away as she approached the steps that would lead her to the top of the mountain. She took a deep, calming breath and started to walk up the steep steps.

After walking up many steps, she was finally on the top of the mountain. She looked around before stepping off the final step and saw the white-haired sannin sitting on a bench overlooking the village. It truly was beautiful up there. She took another breath and found the confidence within to approach him.

"Hello Jiraiya." She said as she approached him.

He looked up at her. He was surprised to see her there standing before him. She was the last person he expected to see that night, especially the night after they had a huge fight and he confessed his love for her. He knew how stubborn she could be, "Hi Tsunade. What brings you up here?"

"You." She said simply, "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" He asked. It sounded so weird to hear her apologize.

"I'm sorry for being so blind. It took me long enough but I now realize that I was scared to love you. I was afraid that I would lose you again but now I'm sure that you will never leave me. You've always been there for me and you always came back to me. All I've done for you was abandon you and treat you like crap but I now know that the reason you did that was because you love me. Well when you died I made my own realization." She said and then stared deeply into his eyes before continuing, "I realized that I love you too." She smiled.

"You have no idea how happy you just made me. I feel like the luckiest man in the world." He said as he got up, walked over to Tsunade and cupped her cheeks with both his hands.

"I love you idiot."

"I love you too princess."

She started to cry tears of joy, "Look at me crying like an idiot." She said as she tried to wipe away her tears.

Jiraiya placed a thumb on her chin and she looked up at him with tears still streaming down her face, "Even Hokages cry." He said then used his free thumb to gently wipe away her fallen tears. He brought his face closer to hers and they could not have been any closer.

His lips met hers and they shared a sweet kiss. It was gentle and soft. It was everything she wanted it to be and she didn't want him to stop. His lips left hers as he kissed her cheek, then forehead then her lips once again. His hands held her hips and her arms wrapped around his strong neck as her fingers became entangled in his spiky hair. It was a beautiful moment for the two of them as they poured all of their built up passion into that one kiss.

When air became a necessity, they broke away. He took her hand in his own and led her to the bench where the two of them sat. Tsunade rested her head on his shoulder and he bent over to kiss her forehead once again. They sat there looking out at their beautiful village. The street lights twinkled in the night sky and the starts above illuminated the village. At that moment, Tsunade knew that she was happy and had absolutely no regrets. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt that he would always be there, right beside her.

* * *

_I'm here again, a thousand miles away from you_

_A broken mess, just scattered pieces of who I am_

_I tried so hard_

_Thought I could do this on my own_

_I've lost so much along the way_

_Then I see your face, I know I'm finally yours_

_I find everything, I thought I lost before_

_You call my name, I come to you in pieces_

_So you can make me whole_

_I've come undone_

_But you make sense of who I am_

_Like puzzle pieces in your hand_

_Then I see your face, I know I'm finally yours_

_I find everything, I thought I lost before_

_You call my name, I come to you in pieces_

_So you can make me whole_

_So you can make me whole…_

* * *

**This ship should have happened. Seriously, they are so perfect!**

**It was a pleasure writing this for you and going on this emotional rollercoaster with you.**

**I want to extend my most sincere thanks so thank you to all my readers, those who reviewed/followed/favorited and those who did not. It meant a lot to me and fueled the fire within me to write this fanfiction.**

**Don't let me stop here though! Give me some ideas as to what you want to see in the future. It would be a pleasure for me to write whatever you guys have in mind.**

**The song at the end is 'Pieces' by Red. It's a great song so if you haven't already, go listen to it and if you have, listen to it again and again until you can see images of Tsunade and Jiraiya in your mind. You can also read this while listening to that song (just put the song on replay). It will probably make you cry; well that's what it did to me at least.**

**Look out for me in the future.**

**THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!**

**Until next time folks!**


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